Oil Pump

[dennyhaulman]

i have a 1992 ranger 2.3L. have oil pressure gauge moving up and down and now seems not to be getting pressure at all. is it possible to remove the oil pan without removing engine? could i lift the engine enough or is total removel necessary? thanks

 

[enjr44]

The oil pressure gauge on a Ranger is a switch. If you have 5 or 6 pounds of oil pressure (don't remember which) it will read normal. Less than that zero.

So is it the gauge in the instrument cluster, the sending unit or is it low oil pressure? Unless you can hear banging and clanging around in the engine you need to troubleshoot to determine which. If you do have banging and clanging, it is probably to late to just change the oil pump.

You can test it with a mechanical gauge to determine if you have oil pressure. Or troubleshoot the gauge and sending unit to see if it is working properly. I believe the sending unit just grounds the gauge wire when you get oil pressure. Pull the wire off the sending unit and ground it. The gauge should go to the normal oil pressure reading. IF not the gauge or wiring is bad.

If it does read normal, you now have two options, the pump is bad or the oil pressure sender/switch is bad. I guess you could have a bad oil filter; but, then you are back to the banging and clanging part. It is pretty cheap (compared to the labor to pull the engine/pan) to just change the sending unit. Oil pumps are pretty sturdy and rarely fail, they do; but, not often.

 

[slamdstorm]

Are you other gauges and warning lamps functioning properly? I'm assuming you checked how much oil is in the truck but I have to ask. The wiring connects at the instrument cluster behind your dash which is a pain to access to check the circuit from the gauge to oil pressure sender which is in the left head on the back of the engine. I would definitely check the wiring from the sender towards the gauge to ensure everything is connected properly, if you're lucky it could be a bad connection at the sender.

You could replace the sender for 20-40 bucks and/or a new electrical oil gauge is about the same if the first part swap doesn't take care of it. If the sender doesn't fix it run jumper wires from the sender to the gauge before purchasing a new one because sounds like a wiring issue to me.

Paying a shop to test your gauge/sender is cheaper than purchasing the equipment to do it yourself and then you will know for sure without having to pull the engine or dash apart.

Pulling the valve cover and distributor in order to turn the oil pump by hand with a 1/4 inch ratchet extension and a drill is the only other way I know to verify if the pump is working mechanically. Since you said the gauge is now showing 0 pressure this would prove that it is one of the first 3 things I suggested and all are much easier than pulling your engine.

Chiltons says the engine has to be pulled and the times I've tried to cheat the book made me wish I hadn't in more ways than one.

 

[XLTsplash]

On my dad's 89 Ranger with a 2.3L I was able to drop the pan down enough to get my hand in the and removed the oil pump. I found the pick up screen was plugged with oil pan gasket sealer. It's a common problem on 89/93 Ranger 2.3L. Because the pan gasket is one piece you can replace it by just dropping the pan and not removing the engine and the pan. For more room you can unbolt the motor mounts, lift the engine up and put blocks of wood under the mounts to hold the engine up. I've also heard you can remove the pan by pulling the trans. I'm thinking of trying this on my 97 2.3L and installing new clutch while I'm there. Here's what the clogged screen looks like